Weeds: Bill Sussman
By fred | September 14, 2007
(S03E05) Drugs are usually considered a “bad thing”, I mean, they’re illegal and all. But when Weeds appeared on Showtime a few years ago, and while never implying that smoking pot was a good thing to do, or cool or whatever, they gave drugs - or pot at least - a “lighter touch”. Because you had this little family, and the mother was raising her children and trying to figure everything out on her own (husband passed away), and in order to do so she was selling weeds.
It wasn’t a drama, more a comedy. A satiristic vision of the good looking place of Agrestic, where every little boxes looks the same, nice and clean. Because behind the surface, not everything was as clean and pretty as it seems : couples were fighting and falling apart, kids were unhappy, and everyone seemed to like and want the product of the new neighborhood pot dealer, single-mom Nancy, up to city councilman Doug Wilson.
But as time went, Weeds evolved slowly into a more serious, tragic, drama-toned show. The feeling surrounding drugs, and dealing drugs, has evolved from a nice afternoon at your kids soccer game under the sun, into dead DEA husband in the closet and drive-by shootings after lunch! It also went from pot, to heroin.
And for some reason, Nancy is freaking out at the simple idea of heroin, seeing some drives her out of her mind.
Because that’s what happens when you start doing drugs, or selling some. It can be good for a while, great and fun even, but it will not last. Soon, you’ll be dragged into heroin deals involving gangs, shootings, and far more things than you ever wanted or could control, even remotely.
Soon your life will be destroyed, you’ll have lost all control over things, your friends and family will be sucked in… that’s the hell of drugs. So stay away from drugs, kids!
Interesting to see that as Weeds goes deeper into satire, shooting at religion, politics, and all they can aim for, they also present a more standard, “conservative”, classic message about drugs. (Only missing thing in the picture is addiction)
That being said, Weeds is fully back, it’s fun, and it’s great. But it’s different, too. Because, as I said, Nancy’s life went up-side-down and she completely lost control over it. She doesn’t act no more, only reacts. She’s a victim (of drugs) and she’s hitting bottom.
Apparently, for her the bottom, the thing that goes over the line and makes her freak out completely, is heroin. I’m not sure why, I mean, sure it’s big, sure it’s good she does finally freak out, but… why heroin, why only when she sees heroin in her garage ? (btw, opening the package (drugs) your gang dealer of a boss is keeping in your garage, that again is something you’re not supposed to be, Nancy, you’ll need to learn those things someday)
Her child is now selling drugs for her, hubbie and DEA agent gone missing, his DEA partners watching her every move as she has to deal drugs, shot people bleeding in her car, being the driver in drive-by shooting, having gang leader & drug dealer coming to her home after he threaten her kids, … none of this is too much for Nancy.
All of that she can handle, look at her hand. But heroin, complete freak out! Except for the message that pot leads to heroin, which rhymes will loosing your life and all the previously mentioned trouble, I don’t see no real reason for it, but anyways.
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